UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Five Penn State students in their respective areas of leadership have been honored with the 2022 John W. Oswald Award. Awards were given in the following fields: Natalie Heising, athletics; Jennifer Aklilu and Andrea Castaneda, scholarship; Ang Chen and William Li, social services. 

The John W. Oswald Award, established in 1983, annually recognizes graduating seniors who have provided outstanding leadership in at least one of several areas of activity at the University. The award consists of a medallion honoring John W. Oswald, president of the University from 1970 to 1983. 

Athletics

Natalie Heising 

Heising majors in chemical engineering in the College of Engineering. Nominators said the two-time captain of the women’s ice hockey team helped transform a team that struggled for cohesion and consistency to one where players trust one another. She helped the team earn the College Hockey America (CHA) regular season title, finishing the year with a 16-3-2 record, after being slightly below or at .500 for the previous four seasons. 

“The championship was not the crown achievement of the year, the ultimate prize was the fact that our team was finally a family, a team of 20 leaders, who also followed,” a nominator said. “Natalie created the standards and lived by them every day, while every teammate bought into being part of something bigger than themselves.” 

Nominators said Heising’s teammates appreciate her tenacious attitude on the ice while being a kind and genuine mentor off of it. They also credited her with being a team player. 

She’s a member of the Athletic Director Sandy Barbour’s Leadership Institute at Penn State, which helps promising athletes hone their leadership skills. 

Heising became Penn State’s all-time leading scorer with 147 career points and 74 career goals and tied for the program career lead with 63 assists. She recorded at least 20 points in all her seasons at Penn State, including a program-record 40 points in the 2021-22, which earned her CHA Player of the Year honors.   

A leader on and off the ice, Heising received her second consecutive CHA Individual Sportsmanship Award in 2021-22 for her leadership and representation of Penn State as a student-athlete. She was also named to the CHA All-Academic Team and All-Big Ten Academic Team in 2020-21.   

Scholarship

Jennifer Aklilu 

Aklilu majors in industrial engineering in the College of Engineering with a 3.55 cumulative grade-point average. Nominators said she exemplifies what it means to be an innovator, a mentor and a leader in her community. They said she relies on the critical thinking skills that make her a great future engineer to solve problems inside and outside of the discipline.  

Nominators called Aklilu an outstanding leader who's perhaps best showcased in her role as National Society of Black Engineers vice president. Aklilu helped organize the group’s annual conference, no small feat amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She engaged participants through incentives, watch parties and group bonding sessions during the virtual event. Nominators said this helped create an experience members cherished. 

Aklilu’s passion for mentorship is evident in her service to the MEP Mentorship Program and the BLUEprint Peer Mentoring Program. Nominators said Aklilu can always be counted on to use innovative approaches to solve challenging situations. 

“She possesses a unique level of maturity that I have not witnessed in many undergraduate students,” a nominator said. “Her ability to authentically connect with each of her mentees is remarkable. I would attribute this to her ability to actively listen, resonate empathetically, and follow through with specific action.” 

Nominators also said Aklilu leads by example, charting a path for others to follow. 

“Jennifer has the unique ability to bring harmony to every room that she enters,” a nominator said. “She has a fire and determination to succeed, which have fueled her success here at Penn State and will continue to do so well into her future career. As a woman of color in STEM, Jennifer recognizes the challenges and obstacles that she must overcome and works tirelessly to break down barriers, not only for herself, but for other women of color following in her footsteps.” 

Andrea Castaneda 

Castaneda majors in industrial engineering with a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average. Nominators said she’s an exceptional student with a passion for getting involved in extracurricular activities on campus and continuing to build a strong community. 

“She is a natural leader and uses those skills to impact people positively,” a nominator said. “This means truly dedicating time and effort to what she is involved in and caring about the people she works with.” 

Castaneda is director of professional development in the Society of Women Engineers, a position she held after serving as chair. In this role, she helps undergraduate students prepare for their careers by finding industry connections, helping students write resumes and create portfolio samples and conducting mock interviews. She developed new professional development events to prepare undergraduate students for career fairs and other professional opportunities. 

She’s also a mentor in the Women in Engineering program orientation, a yearlong goal of helping newer students seamlessly transition to college during their first year. She exposes students to different majors and activities while teaching them to get the most out of their experience at Penn State. In this role, she led a team of 12 first-year students during a four-day orientation, following up throughout the academic year to confirm success strategies and positive practices. 

Nominators said Castaneda spreads her love of math and engineering to her peers through the Engineering Ambassadors program. She leads tours to discuss educational options with students and their families. She also conducts outreach with K-12 schools to expose students to STEM. Nominators said it’s all because she wants to make engineering more accessible and bring opportunities to students. 

“Students like Andrea make Penn State a better place,” a nominator said. “Penn State is fortunate to have her so it’s great for her to be recognized for her enthusiasm, scholarship and leadership through this award.”  

Social services 

Ang Chen

Chen majors in electrical engineering in the College of Engineering. He is also a Schreyer Scholar in the Schreyer Honors College. Nominators said he is an extraordinary student leader who symbolizes the Penn State values and inspires those around him to do the same. They said he’s spent nearly four years committed to enhancing experiences for international students.  

In 2020, when more than 400 first-year students living in China were prevented from traveling to Penn State due to international travel restrictions, Chen traveled to China to become the student program coordinator, teaching assistant and resident assistant at Penn State First: Shanghai Program. There, he organized events such as orientation, academic seminars, movie night, alumni connection and international education week. 

“Ang elaborately designed and hosted several major events in Shanghai to promote Penn State’s goals for academic excellence, diversity, and global citizenship by engaging Penn State students in Shanghai to foster an inclusive ‘We Are’ spirit of the global Penn State community,” a nominator said. 

Chen worked with Penn State Alumni Association Shanghai Chapter to organize student visits to alumni-owned or alumni-related businesses in Shanghai. That allowed students to get an insider’s perspective on the industries. He also maintained and improved the partnership with the Council on International Educational Exchange, East China Normal University, Shanghai Alumni Association and the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai.  

He produced flyers, brochures, videos and social media to help disseminate his message that was shaped through discussions with Penn State Global. 

In 2021, Chen led events organized by Penn State Global and the Penn State Chinese Student and Scholars Association. These pre-departure orientation sessions were held in three cities – Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai – in addition to a virtual component. The event brought together 450 students, including newly admitted undergraduates, graduate students, transfer students, and rising sophomores, as well as 220 parents.  

“The orientation helped students and parents to gain essential information about Penn State,” a nominator said. “As an international student, Chen cultivates positive relations with people of diverse backgrounds and has a good rapport with his faculty, alumni and classmates.”  

William Li 

Li majors in mathematics in the Eberly College of Science. Nominators said since 2018 he’s been working to combat food insecurity through volunteerism at The Lion’s Pantry, the official on-campus student food pantry that delivered more than 31,000 pounds of food to more than 1,600 visitors in 2020. 

Li served as manager and director of the pantry. In these roles, he had many duties including interacting daily with clients, training volunteers, overseeing day-to-day operations of the pantry and its partnerships, building relationships with University offices, student organization, the community, Commonwealth campuses and alumni. 

Li also supervised student managers and volunteers while creating and leading initiatives to improve operations. He said the results he’s been able to accomplish are because of numerous volunteers working as a team. 

One area where Li shined, nominators said, was when the pantry was forced to close for a few months due to renovations. Li quickly implemented a partnership with Housing and Food Services where students could source food from Market East in the residence halls as well as a hot meal. 

“The students were well served during this difficult summer as Will handled all the requirements for students to participate in this program,” a nominator said “There were many questions about this new program and Will was always there to answer them and help everyone through the process.”  

Nominators said Li’s endless passion for helping the food insecure also led to a much-needed renovation at the pantry. Nominators said the math major used his skills to get a better handle on the pantry’s usage, pounds of food donated and future needs, helping to steer the renovation. 

“I rarely have seen a student so dedicated to this important topic here at University Park,” a nominator said. “He not only speaks intelligently about food pantries but is present and available to all who contact him. He works very hard at making the Lion’s Pantry a better program for all and spends so much of his time moving the Lion’s Pantry forward.”